DTEK is considering the possibility of expanding its oil and gas business in Ukraine, CEO of the company Maksym Timchenko has said in an interview with the Ekonomichna Pravda edition.
“We are constantly studying the deposits of all available players on the market. That is, we are open to expanding our business, without exception, with all players, including state-owned companies. If there are such opportunities not only for acquisitions, but also for joint activities, some kind of joint projects in exploration and production, we are ready for this,” he said.
According to Timchenko, in particular, the assets of Geo Alliance group for DTEK are “a potential area of our interest.” At the same time, he did not comment on the details of the negotiations.
As reported, in 2020 DTEK Oil and Gas increased natural gas production by 10.8% (by 180 million cubic meters) compared to 2019, to 1.84 billion cubic meters. In 2021, the company plans to increase gas production to 2 billion cubic meters.
Geo Alliance produced 203 million cubic meters of gas in 2020.
Geo Alliance is under the mandate of the international investment and consulting group EastOne, which unites the assets of Victor Pinchuk. In 2012, EastOne announced a strategic partnership between Geo Alliance and Arawak Energy Ukraine BV, part of the Vitol group of companies, one of the largest operators in the world energy market.
An Iranian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Baharvand arrived in Kyiv for talks on the Ukraine International Airline (UIA) flight PS752 shot down near Tehran in 2020, Iranian Ambassador to Kyiv Manuchehr Moradi said.
“A delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran led by Mr. Mohsen Baharvand […] arrived in Ukraine today to discuss the third round of talks between the two countries on the technical and legal aspects of the tragic disaster of the Ukrainian PS752,” Moradi said on Twitter.
On May 31, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine registered a European-made AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 for emergency medical use, according to the agency’s website.
The vaccine, developed by Oxford University and the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, is reportedly manufactured in Italy and has the trade name AstraZeneca. The AstraZeneca emergency vaccine has already been approved by the World Health Organization and has also been approved by the UK, EU, India and Canada.
By the end of the week, within the framework of the global COVAX initiative, 705,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Ukraine. It will be intended for vaccination with a second dose of those who have already passed the 12-week interval after the first vaccination, in particular, doctors and healthcare workers, JFO participants, social workers, clergymen, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, persons aged 65+. Also, the second dose of the vaccine is guaranteed to people who were vaccinated with residual doses or public figures.
Flynas Airlines (Saudi Arabia) enters the Ukrainian market with regular flights between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
The Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine said on Facebook that on May 31 a meeting was held between Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov and CEO of Flynas Bander Al-Mohanna.
“Each new flight is, first of all, new opportunities for development of business, tourism and Ukraine’s integration into world markets. That is why the increase in regular routes of direct flights is among the priorities of the ministry. We want Ukraine to become a major international air hub, and such steps make us closer to this goal,” Kubrakov said.
Previously, Ukraine did not have regular direct flights with Saudi Arabia. For the flight, a transfer was needed through Istanbul, Doha or Dubai.
Flynas is Saudi Arabia’s leading low cost airline with a fleet of 30 aircraft. The airline operates over 1,200 flights weekly to 35 domestic and international destinations. The airline has recently entered into an agreement with Airbus to purchase 120 new aircraft for a total value of $8.6 billion.
MAIN TRADE PARTNERS OF UKRAINE IN % FROM TOTAL VOLUME (EXPORT FROM UKRAINE TO OTHER COUNTRIES) IN JAN-FEB 2021
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in January-March this year reduced capital investments by 1% compared to the same period last year, to $ 147 million from $ 148 million.
The unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2021 show that strategic investment declined 37% year-on-year as a result of the ongoing revision of the technology strategy and the completion of some key projects in 2020, while maintenance project investment increased by 32%, which brought its share in total capital investments to 30% and 70%, respectively (47% and 53% in the first quarter of 2020).
At the same time, Metinvest continued to implement the following key strategic projects: the construction of a cyclical flow technology at Pivnichny and Inhulets GOKs (completion of work at both GOKs is expected by the end of 2021), the construction of an air separation unit at Illich Steel Plant (detailed engineering documentation has been completed). Metinvest has also launched a project for thickening waste enrichment at Pivnichny GOK to reduce waste transportation costs and the cost of servicing pumping equipment at slurry pumping stations. The group continued the construction of new block No. 11 at the mine of the recently consolidated Pokrovske mine directorate to maintain production volumes.
“Despite the completion of the main work within the largest environmental project in the history of Ukraine – the reconstruction of the sinter plant at Illich Steel Mill, environmental issues remain a priority for the group,” the report emphasizes.
Thus, other environmental projects in the first quarter of 2021 included the reconstruction of the gas cleaning facilities of the foundry and the bunker rack of blast furnaces No. 4 and No. 5 at Illich Steel Mill, the reconstruction of the gas cleaning system of oxygen converters at Azovstal and the replacement of the gas cleaning equipment of the Lurgi 552-A roasting furnace at Pivnichny GOK.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The group’s enterprises are located mainly in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The main shareholders of the holding are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
